CE Integration
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Experience (CE) is now integrated with Binary Stream's F&O Subscription Billing. This integration is performed using the Quote functionality in the Sales Hub app.
Process Enhancements
Users will now be able to perform the following tasks:
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View and edit MS Subscription billing schedules in CE. Any changes made will automatically be reflected in F&O.
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Create independent billing schedules (not linked to any Quote) in CE.
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Automatically create billing schedule and/or Sales order when the Quote is won.
CE Setup Procedure
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Starting from the Microsoft Dynamics 365 home page, open the menu on the left side of the screen and select Modules > Advanced Subscription Management > Advanced Subscription Management Parameters.
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Enable the CE Integration Setup switch. This switch is set to "No" by default, and must be set to Yes in order to enable the CE Integration functionality. When the CE Integration Setup switch is turned on, then the CE Integration tab will be visible (highlighted in the image, below). Additionally, the billing schedule header fields will be enabled, and some fields will become mandatory (Billing Start Date, Billing End Date, Billing Frequency). Please see Recurring Billing Tab Parameters for additional information about this tab.
CE Integration Tab Parameters
When the CE Integration Setup switch is turned on, then the CE Integration tab will be visible. This tab has only one parameter - the Billing Schedule number prefix. While prefixes are already used in the billing schedules, this allows users to specify a different billing schedule prefix for the CE Integration .
CE Integration Functionality Overview
The standard functionality in Subscription Billing is duplicated in the CE Integration. Whatever changes are made anywhere in the system will also be reflected in the CE area, and vice versa. For example, if you add a new line to a CE billing schedule, and then go back to the F&O side, that newly-added line will also be visible there, as indicated by the highlighted row in the image below.
Other supported functionality includes: place a hold, terminate, view billing detail lines, revenue splits, price adjustments, deferrals, and milestone allocations.
Standalone Billing
Standalone billing, also referred to as a sales order, is another way of referring to a single sale for a particular customer.
The life cycle of a billing schedule begins with a quote. A quote is created, one or more products are added, and the quote is sent to the customer. The customer reviews the quote, and if the customer agrees to the price, then the quote is activated, and an order is created. The Create Order process creates a sales order.
Note: Sales orders remain on the CE side. Unlike subscription billing, sales orders are not copied over to the F&O side of the application.
Recurring Billing
Recurring billing, also known as subscription billing, is a series of sales of a product(s) to a particular customer, at regular intervals.
A new subscription tab has been added to the Sales Hub screen. From here, users can enable the subscription billing functionality by setting the Enable Subscription switch to Yes.
